


fools

by sofsomi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Kissing, Confessions, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, jaemin's pov, just a couple of fools in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofsomi/pseuds/sofsomi
Summary: the boy has seen his best friend countless of times. heck, they’ve been together for god knows how long. and yet, he’s always left speechless because huang renjun, is without a doubt, a painfully beautiful creature. even with sweat running down his temples – in jaemin’s eyes, renjun is iridescent.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	fools

Sighing deeply, Na Jaemin browses the clips he filmed for the past few days, watches it with indifference as he scoffs at a clip where a boy in their class laughed too much, juice came out of his nose. He closes the clip, deciding not to use it as it was too embarrassing for the boy in question.

He breathes in deeply as he tries to massage his temples, knowing how the editing would take him all year to finish, with the clips piling as the days go by.

Jaemin’s homeroom teacher approached him weeks before, asked if he could do this "fairly simple" favor; it is to create a short film, an emotional whirlwind of a ride of their last year in high school condensed into whimsical clips of their day-to-day activities.

His head’s beginning to spin from the overload of footage he had to skim, and so he decides to watch a different set of clips of a particular person in their class. An immediate smile crosses his face and his heart swells almost instantly.

There, he sees Huang Renjun erasing the board on his tippy toes. As soon as the boy caught Jaemin filming him at the side, he got flustered and proceeded to scold him for recording without his knowledge. Their exchange made the whole class erupt into fits of laughter, highly aware of their friendship. Due to their chortling, Renjun's scowl twisted into glee as a huge grin painted across his face, a tear crept at the corner of his eye as he laughs with the whole class.

He opens another clip; just a footage of Renjun practicing a contemporary dance with a group of people for their school festival, a serious look loomed over his face but when he noticed Jaemin in the crowd, his face morphed into euphoria as Renjun shyly waved Jaemin's way, a blush crept his face.

Once again, Jaemin beams, the butterflies in his stomach flutter crazily.

It’s true that he has a crush on his best friend. He's unsure when he started to see Renjun in a different light. One moment, Renjun was the shy boy that kept stumbling with his words— next moment, he was _the_ Huang Renjun; the wonderfully clever class president loved by all; who aces all of their classes with ease and has enough time to balance his studies, class president duties and dance club.

He honestly thought his feelings would go away, but it kept growing and growing, until he couldn't brush it under the rug anymore. He no longer sees him as the silly kid whom he played pranks on bullies with; he’s different. He was the same, but different (for one, he’s far prettier than anyone he has ever laid eyes on and it’s so difficult to ignore that).

And yet, he's afraid. Impeccably frightened of what's to come.

Beforehand, he asked Renjun to meet him after his dance rehearsals. They'd meet under the tree fairly far from school grounds, so he could finally say what he had been wanting to say for such a long time.

Like always, Jaemin is sitting comfortably on top of the sturdiest tree branch, gazing at the sunset that seemed to give off an orange, yellow and red glow all around him. He breathes in the sweet air, hoping to keep the anxiety seeping out of him.

“Na Jaemin!” cries a soft and familiar voice, too familiar to his liking.

Jaemin chuckles as he closes his laptop’s screen, safely keeping it in his bag. “You’ve finally arrived!” Jaemin says in a teasing tone, smirking cheekily. But as soon as he sees Renjun looking up at him, his mouth gapes in bewilderment.

The boy has seen his best friend countless of times. Heck, they’ve been together for God knows how long. And yet, he’s always left speechless because Huang Renjun, is without a doubt, a painfully beautiful creature. Even with sweat running down his temples— in Jaemin’s eyes, Renjun is iridescent.

Renjun rolls his eyes playfully as he plops his bag on the ground, his eyes crinkle into crescents. “Now, what’s so important that my best friend had to call me here—" He pauses, glaring at Jaemin's comfortable position, "In which said best friend is perfectly perched on top of a tree, mulling over something like a protagonist in a coming-of-age film?" Renjun tilts his head in curiosity, eyeing Jaemin with a mischievous glint in his eyes— testing him if he could come up with a smart retort.

But, Jaemin isn’t interested in snarky comebacks or flamboyant acting– not right now, when his heartbeat begins to quicken in his chest and he can hear the deafening drum in his ears.

“God, what a poet. Just get up here, Renjeon!” He exclaims, mispronouncing his name on purpose as he shakes his head in feigned disappointment.

Renjun purses his lips, “Fine, dum-dum. What seems to be the problem?” He questions, as he begins to climb up the tree. Although, unlike Jaemin who's a master at climbing ever since they were kids, Renjun is taking his time to climb.

“There’s no problem.” Jaemin replies in a nonchalant way, shrugging his shoulders to prove his point.

“Then, what? Last time we were here was when you called out our sexist literature teacher.”

Jaemin huffs, recalling how their literature teacher was being an asshole. He deserved to be called a sexist because he _is_ one and he doesn't tolerate it. "He deserved it."

Renjun's chuckle rings in his head like church bells, "Oh, definitely."

Climbing up trees and watching the sunset had become a routine of theirs whenever there’s a problem present in either of their lives. Like, how Renjun said he'll pursue contemporary dance but his father disapproved of his choice, or how Jaemin showed interest in filmmaking and gave up his family's dream of him becoming a doctor.

Whenever there was something bothering either of them, they’d always climb on top of the tree, as if it were their safe haven and stay there until dusk. Maybe it was their safe heaven? The soothing sound that the leaves and the sunset’s glow comforted and calmed them. Or maybe, it was because they have each other?

When Jaemin was an itty-bitty five-year-old, a Chinese family moved right across their house and they had a son who was around the same age as him. Their families had become friends and shared a lot similarities and interests— both Renjun and Jaemin naturally became friends in the process. Although, there was an exact moment when they really _did_ become friends, no insistent mothers to push them to play together. It was when Jaemin's eyes widened in astonishment as he watched Renjun play the piano. The latter beamed shyly but let Jaemin sit beside him as he taught the boy a little bit of piano, so they could play together.

They have been friends for roughly thirteen years. They've made forts with the use of blankets and chairs; they've slept over each other's houses countless of times; they've stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars up in Renjun's ceiling and had conversations of a wide spectrum from the existence of Atlantis to alternate universes; they've spent Christmas and New Year's and they've even cried watching Winnie the Pooh films together.

They've gotten everything figured out with each other. However, reality comes and reminds them how some people can still surprise the other with unpredictability.

Jaemin breathes in sharply. Renjun knows something's bothering the said boy so he continues to climb, placing all his weight on a weak branch, hoping it won't break.

“Renjun.” He speaks, almost like a whisper.

“Yeah?”

Without thinking, Jaemin blurts out, “I like you.”

Renjun hasn’t climbed the tree all the way, yet he freezes— as if he can’t breathe. “W-what?” He starts, but his words die before it leaves his mouth.

The boy, sitting on top of a tree branch now looks right at him, his eyes determined and sure. “Huang Renjun, I’ve always liked you! So –“

Before he realizes what's happening, Renjun's falling; stunned and dumbstruck – he falls onto the ground, his eyes wide and the pain that he felt the moment his back touched the ground, begins to numb. Maybe the branch he stepped on was, in fact, _weak_ or Jaemin’s confession caught him off guard. It's most likely the latter because all he knows, is that the boy in question is calling him in distress, carefully climbing down the tree to come to his aid.

He can’t seem to hear Jaemin, yet the boy seems to continually scream at him, asking if he’s all right.

 _Jaemin likes me? It wasn’t unrequited all along?_ Renjun thinks, completely awestruck with what had happened right before his eyes.

“Renjun, answer me, are you okay?” Jaemin exclaims, finally Renjun can hear him. He blinks rapidly and sees Jaemin’s eyebrows furrow in annoyance. “Oh God, what the hell were you thinking?”

The boy lying on the ground starts to feel the pain spike back. He groans loudly as he tries to push Jaemin away for making such an infuriating remark, “It’s your fault! Why would you even confess to me while I was climbing up the tree, are you mad?”

“Okay, fine! It’s my fault. I'm sorry." He pauses, his frown deepening with every passing second, "Are you okay?” Jaemin asks, his eyebrows perpetually furrowed as he helps Renjun sit up. “You’re not paralyzed, are you? Can you still dance? Jun, try to do a pirouette!”

“Oh sure, I can definitely do a pirouette after falling off a tree, Jaemin!”

Jaemin softly pushes him, annoyed how his best friend still has the ability to become sarcastic when he just had fallen off a tree. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Renjeon." Jaemin purses his lips out of exasperation.

The older boy finally sits up properly and smiles gleefully at Jaemin, nudging his shoulder with the use of his head. “Say, Jaemin. Can you repeat what you just said? I think you owe me that much, since you made me fall flat on the ground.”

Jaemin blushes furiously, his ears redden in an instant. “Don't pretend you didn't hear me!"

Renjun giggles as his head falls on top of Jaemin’s shoulder. It feels familiar, but not really. There's a shift in their relationship the moment Jaemin opened his mouth and confessed to him. He’s immensely ecstatic, he can’t wipe off the stupid grin off of his face. “I’m just happy, I guess." He pauses as he whispers oh-so-softly in Jaemin's ear. "I like you, too.”

The boy flushes all too suddenly, averting his gaze away from Renjun's. “It’d be a cruel joke if you were lying to me, Renjeon.”

Renjeon pulls an unamused look on his face, "Stop mispronouncing my name on purpose, that's not romantic." He softly punches Jaemin's shoulder, “Also, what makes you think I’m lying to you?”

Jaemin gulps, quite surprised with the latter's reply. So, Renjun wants romance, huh? Jaemin smirks as he holds Renjun's small hands in his, caressing his birthmark that he loves as he slowly intertwines their fingers. He stares at Renjun's eyes, which most likely hold every single galaxy known to mankind.

“I really like you, Renjun.” Jaemin says again, placing his forehead onto his, their faces only millimeters away and he can clearly see the boy's pale complexion redden immediately. "I've always have."

“Me too, dum-dum. In case you didn't hear me, I like you too.” Renjun chuckles, as he tries to look away from Jaemin’s intense gaze, still a little awkward that he's saying such cheesy things with his best friend, although he had been wanting to say that for a long time now.

Jaemin hums, his voice is deep and it sends a shiver down Renjun’s spine. The boy closes his eyes, completely contended how they're under their tree, holding onto each other, far away from everyone as if they're in their own little world.

The older boy (older than him for a few months) finally looks at him, his breath hitches at the sight of Jaemin so close to him.

“C-can I kiss you?” Jaemin stutters, his voice is like a whisper, too quiet but still, far too loud.

Renjun’s gaze flicks to Jaemin’s perfectly pink lips, and then to his pretty almond eyes. “What if I’m bad at it?”

Jaemin shrugs as he softly holds Renjun's face in his hands. “Then, we’ll be bad at it together.”

Both of them laugh heartily at his remark, lost in each other’s eyes – lost in each other’s touch.

Jaemin slightly tilts Renjun's chin as he leans down to capture his lips with his own. He's scared. Both of them are, but as soon as Renjun's lips lightly press back against Jaemin's, they're no longer petrified anymore. Granted, their first kiss is awkward and clumsy, but Jaemin is sharing his first kiss with his best friend, with his favorite person. He feels as though that he's the luckiest person alive.

They slowly pull away, faces centimeters apart as they lean on each other's foreheads. Jaemin gently smiles, his gaze never leaving Renjun's, whose eyes remained close. “How was it?”

Renjun hums thoughtfully, “As I expected, your lips were rough and dry so, it hurt when you kissed me.” Jaemin feels as though a ton of bricks fell right on top of him, not expecting to hear such criticism. Although, he did share his first kiss with Renjun, who's notorious with words, he should've known the boy would say such a funny thing. “But,” Renjun continues, a small smile playing on his face, “It was warm.”

His soft voice never fails to make Jaemin's heart do somersaults in an instant. He swears, Renjun is the prettiest creature ever to step foot on Earth, it's hard to look away from someone so wonderful, so precious in this world.

"Can I kiss you again, then?" Jaemin asks, eyeing him with a playful glint.

"Yes." Renjun titters as he brings his fingers up to thread Jaemin's hair, tucking a stray strand behind his ear. Gently pulling him close, he kisses him again and everything is perfect, that Jaemin can't help but goofily smile into this kiss.

Their kiss is filled with longing, so much yearning after years and years of pining for each other, oblivious to the fact that yes - they have longed to touch, to hold and, to kiss the other for so long. But up until recently, they were too afraid to put their friendship at risk.

Now, they no longer have to feel afraid of their emotions; they no longer have to hide their true feelings for each other.

After all, what's wrong with boys kissing other boys?

**Author's Note:**

> it's really short i know, but i just wanted to write something short and sweet bc renmin is my very first ship - i just Loved their dynamic so much, okay? anyway, my references include: tamako love story, ryuuji and taiga's first kiss from toradora, and the title is from a song called, "fools" by troye sivan because sm should let renjun post his freakin cover >:( but obv the song isn't influenced with the song. renmin are just fools in love :')
> 
> i wish everyone happy pride! it has been so hard for all of us for the past few months. but, i pray for everyone's safety! hoping that this fic would comfort or made you feel happy in some way. stay safe and let's continue to hope for that 7dream summer cb full album, shall we? ;-)
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/haechios) | [carrd](http://dream-run.carrd.co)


End file.
